Never Go To A Stark Party

Chapter 2

Trying to pinpoint the exact day he had made whoopee with some stranger was harder than Bucky thought it'd be. He had next to no recollection of ever going around anyone, as he had been having terrible nightmares that left him locked in his bedroom all day long prior to his baby-making session. The only day he could even consider was the party that Steve had dragged him along to.

Bucky sighed softly as he wracked his brain for any clue. All he remembered was hanging around Steve most of the night, occasionally drinking a few shots when Natasha forced him to and sulking.

He exhaled heavily. It was clear to him that the weeks worth of not sleeping had clouded his head, resulting in him not remembering much.

He decided to prod Natasha when he realized he would make no further progress.

Walking into her room after cleaning himself up, he plopped down beside her on her bed. She glanced over at him as she tied the laces to her boots into a bow.

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"I need help with pinpointing the day. I can't remember anything. It's like I've got amnesia all over again." The brunette exhaled quietly, trying to mask the irritation in his voice. He was very clearly frustrated because of the lack of progress he had made.

Standing up, the redhead glanced down sympathetically at Bucky. She ruffled his hair before walking to the chair in the corner of her room and grabbing her bag off of it.

"I'd love to help you, Barnes, but I've got a mission right now. I don't know when I'll be back. I'm tackling some hotshot." She walked back to the bed and sat beside him, an apologetic glint in her eyes. Bucky grumbled a few complaints before eventually accepting the fact that he'd have to deal with the situation himself and nodding in her direction.

"I've got a few minutes before I gotta go," She spoke as she looked at her watch. "What have you got so far?"

The man instantly lit up. "Not too much, honestly. You'd think I'd be pretty good at hunting the fucker down considering I used to hunt people for decades, but I guess I lost all that when I gained my free will back." He joked playfully before continuing. "But, uh, all I know is that I didn't go anywhere before the...act. The nightmares had come back, I was basically paralyzed in bed again."

"The act? Is that what you're calling it?" The widow laughed softly and rolled her eyes, a secret attempt at diverting the conversation to something lighthearted so that the man didn't have to dwell on anything negative.

"Don't judge me." Bucky scoffed playfully, nudging her shoulder. "What else am I supposed to call it? 'Cause it certainly wasn't an act of passion and love, it doesn't deserve some fancy name. I don't even remember it."

Natasha only shrugged and smiled. "So that's all you got? You really do suck now."

Bucky stuck his tongue out before continuing. "I didn't finish. The only day I actually went out somewhere there were other people was when Steve took me to that party of Tony's. I'm thinkin' that's where it happened. That's the only possible way someone coulda got their hands on me."

"Well," Natasha began as she stood up. "Trust your gut and go with it. Find out who was at the party, where they were, and if anyone witnessed you getting dragged away by them. I gotta go."

Bucky stood up and gave her a brisk hug before she could leave.

"Will do." He spoke with a smile. She returned it easily and started walking out the room. Before she was out of arm's reach, however, the brunette stopped her. She turned to look at him, a questioning and slightly impatient look on her toned features.

"Thanks, Nat... You've really been a big help these past few months. I appreciate it."

A soft chuckle left the woman's mouth. She smiled genuinely and pulled the rugged man in for another hug, this time the embrace lasting much longer.

"No problem, Barnes. I know you need someone there for you, and it's not like you can exactly tell Steve or Sam. I'm here for you, man." She pulled away from the embrace momentarily to look at Bucky. "But now I really gotta go."

Bucky laughed and nodded, pulling away. "See you around."

"See ya, Barnes. Don't give birth while I'm gone, alright?"

The two shared another laugh before Natasha departed, reminding the brunette to lock her door before he left. Bucky exhaled softly, feeling a lot better about the whole situation than he had before he spoke with the other ex-assassin.

After making sure he did as he was told, he walked around the halls of the large building he called home. He wracked his brain as he tried recalling who was at the party. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought.

"Clint and his wife were there... There was Tony, Nat, Steve..." He trailed off absentmindedly as he dug deeper into his brain so that he could remember more. "Banner... What's that other guy's name...? Sam. Yeah." He laughed softly to himself as he picked on the man despite him not being there to hear and give a rebuttal.

He stopped walking when he reached the door that led to the balcony. Smiling slightly, he opened the door and walked out to the ledge. Below and all around him stood countless skyscrapers, buildings, factories, houses, and much more than he cared to try and recall the name for. The busy sound of the city known as Manhattan filled his ears and warmed his heart with the faint nostalgia of the past and when he was in Brooklyn.

A chuckle left his smiling lips as he recalled the warmth of his hometown and the trouble he and Steve used to get into. From the few memories he could remember as of that moment, it seemed to him as if he was always pulling the blonde out of a fight.

He smiled down at the city fondly. "He never changes, does he?" He asked himself quietly, replying to his question internally. No, he doesn't. Too much of a softie to back out when there's somethin' worth fightin' for, he answered.

A long while full of silence accompanied the man as he basked in long forgotten memories. Slowly, the sun in the sky began to set and the city's hustle and bustle softened. The twinkle of the leisurely arriving stars, however, didn't rival the spark in Bucky's eyes.

As much as the world had hurt him, had beat him down and forced him to submit, called him a traitor and tried to silence him, he still loved it. The way the people of the places he had lived in never ceased to amaze him; they were so free, so graceful with the way they moved around and claimed ownership of themselves and the things they loved truly awed him; the way an animal forgave a human despite the way they were treated inspired him to, honestly, do the same; the new inventions, the new clothes, the new foods, the new forms of entertainment and expression always proved to be nothing short of extraordinary when it came to Bucky.

He had always loved big cities, the unique people that lived in them, the creations that were made by the people, and everything else that came with them.

Nothing, not even HYDRA, could take that away from him.

A/N: Updates are every Saturday!
Update: no they're not, lmaooo